COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTIONThis past winter, we siphoned some of our spicy and rugged seasonal IPA into bourbon barrels. Before sealing them for a nearly three-month hibernation, we dosed the vessels with whole-cone Comet and East Kent Golding hops-a nod to how traditional IPAs were prepped for sea voyages. The explosive aroma seesaws between tropical fruit and vanilla, and an overall sweetness tames the barrels’ kick, which holds the remnant spice of rye.

Bottle - Pours a dark amber, with substantial head and good lacing. Great interplay between the rye malt and the hops, which don’t get lost in the beer. Will be fun to open another bottle in 6 months and see how it develops...

Amber color out of the bottle with a thin off white head. Big fresh hop nose with grapefruit and barrel notes. This is a nice balance for a hoppy barrel aged beer. Flavors of oak, wood, citrus, grapefruit and bourbon. Rich grainy flavor with lots of hop, enhanced by the barrel aging. This may be my favorite barrel aged IPA.

Close your eyes and image you’re back in the old west, a friend says, "hey come on over and we’ll open up a keg o’ nails ... " well this beer, being aged in rye whiskey barrels is so smooth and mellow ... this is the ultimate old western beer. It is remarkable and unmatched.

750 c&c from the Sierra Nevada shop. Pours darkish ruddy copper with a creamy/foamy dark beige head. I’m getting pineapple notes with some rye, but not much in the way of bourbon. Med body or maybe a bit better. Flavor is amazing. The carb has to foam away, then there’s that pineapple note, followed by rye and oak, and finally some bourbon/vanilla. It’s rather spicy, and hoppy, and I’m getting a burn from something. I vote rye. Oak and bourbon are very low key in the finish. Hop and rye spice are the stronger flavors, but pineapple pops in and out.. Just a delight to drink.

This bottled brew from a bottle shop poured a head of foamy finely sized white colored bubbles that were mostly diminishing and left behind a uncarbonated transparent copper orange colored body and a fair lacing. The mild aroma was mild malt and mild hop. The mouth feel was tingly at the start and at the finish. The nice flavor contained notes of mildly vinous hops and bread dough. A decent one that I would consider drinking again.

On draft at Tap 25. it pours a similar color to the regular version. Golden orange, clear with an off white head. The aroma is strong with bourbon, vanilla, caramel and a bit of rye spicy maltiness that adds another dimension. The flavor is pretty strong with alcohol and more of the spicy wood, bourbon flavors. It seems to meld nicely with the hops and rye. A nice sipper.

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